NCLAT Reduces CCI's Fine on Google in Play Store Case

NCLAT directed Google to deposit the revised amount within 30 days, noting that it had already paid 10% of the penalty

- Krishna Yadav & Shouvik Das

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has granted partial relief to American tech giant Google by significantly reducing the antitrust regulator Competition Commission of India's (CCI) penalty to ₹216.69 crore from ₹936.44 crore.

The penalty was originally imposed on Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc., for allegedly abusing its dominant position in mobile app markets through the Android Play Store—by forcing developers to use its own billing method and charging a mandatory service fee even when third-party billing methods were used.

On Friday, NCLAT directed Google to deposit the revised amount within 30 days, noting that the company had already paid 10% of the total penalty.

The ruling, delivered by an NCLAT bench led by chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan, partially accepted Google's appeal by setting aside some portions of CCI's 2022 order.